Abortion: Private and Public Insurance Coverage

Abortion: Private and Public Insurance Coverage | In the News

States continue to pass new restrictions on insurance coverage for abortion regardless of whether a woman receives her insurance from the government, including Medicaid, or from a private insurer. Some of these restrictions would be applied to the health care exchanges being created under federal health care reform.

Study finds increase in birth rates after Texas' Planned Parenthood funding cuts
The birth rate among low-income women who previously obtained contraception from clinics in Texas increased after the state cut funding for Planned Parenthood and family planning clinics affiliated with abortion providers, according to a Texas Policy Evaluation Project study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Los Angeles Times' "Science Now" reports.

In Op-Ed, Maine Abortion Providers Advocate for Abortion Access for Low-Income Women
In an opinion piece for the Bangor Daily News, Andrea Irwin, executive director of Mabel Wadsworth Women's Health Center; George Hill, president and CEO of Maine Family Planning; and Meagan Gallagher, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, call on the state's Medicaid program to stop excluding abortion coverage.

Study Finds HB 2 Hinders Women's Abortion Access in Texas
Clinic closures in Texas under the state's omnibus antiabortion-rights law (HB 2) has made it more difficult for women to access abortion care, leading some to delay abortion care or deliver their unintended pregnancies, according to a new study, Houston Public Media reports.

Thousands in R.I. Could Lose Abortion Coverage
Many Rhode Island residents who have health plans through the state's insurance marketplace could lose their existing abortion care coverage and be enrolled automatically in a plan with less comprehensive abortion care benefits for 2016, the Providence Journal reports.

Featured Blogs
"Oregon's Over-the-Counter Birth Control Legislation Is Missing One Critical Component," (Yurcaba, Bustle, 7/19); "Feminists Fought Back Against Anti-Abortion Extremists in Alabama Last Week," ("Feminist Wire," Ms. Magazine, 7/20); "The 4 Best States For Reproductive Rights Are Where We Should All Move, Stat," (Holter, Bustle, 7/20).

Arizona Providers Sue To Block Antiabortion-Rights Law
The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of Arizona abortion providers against a state law (SB 1318) that, if it takes effect, will require physicians to share medically unproven information with patients seeking medication abortions, among other abortion restrictions, the Huffington Post reports.

Texas Bill To Ban ACA Marketplace Abortion Coverage Dies in State House
The Texas House on Tuesday did not approve a bill (SB 575) that would have prohibited most abortion coverage in plans sold through the state's federally operated health insurance marketplace by a legislative deadline, effectively killing the measure for the legislative session, the Texas Tribune reports.

Texas Senate Committee Advances Bill To Ban Abortion Coverage
A Texas Senate Committee on Monday voted 6-1 to advance a bill (SB 575) that would prohibit most abortion coverage in private health plans and in plans sold through the state's federally operated health insurance marketplace, Texas Public Radio reports.

Ariz. Governor Signs Antiabortion-Rights Bill
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) on Monday signed a bill (SB 1318) into law that will require physicians to share medically unproven information with patients seeking medication abortions, among other abortion restrictions, the AP/U-T San Diego reports.

Ariz. Bill Adds To 'Long List' of Misinformation in Anti-Choice Laws
If signed by the governor, an Arizona bill (SB 1318) requiring physicians to tell women that a medication abortion can be reversed would "join a long list of information that" Arizona physicians "are forced to relay to patients seeking an abortion -- much of which providers know to be misleading and aimed ... at dissuading women from choosing the procedure," Brandy Zadrozny writes in the Daily Beast.

Featured Blogs
"Louisiana Women May Have To Travel Even Longer Than You Think for an Abortion," (Marty, Care 2, 3/18); "Four States That Are Actually Working To Protect Abortion Rights" (Culp-Ressler, "Think Progress," Center for American Progress, 3/19).

'Proactive,' National Grassroots Strategy Needed To End Abortion Coverage Bans, URGE Director Argues
After nearly 40 years of fighting the Hyde Amendment and related abortion coverage restrictions "one by one, state by state," many reproductive-justice supporters are "ready to be proactive" to ensure every woman in the U.S. "can have coverage for a full range of pregnancy care, including abortion," Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity Executive Director Kierra Johnson writes in an opinion piece in the American Prospect.

Seattle Resolution Rejects Hyde Amendment, Supports Reproductive Health Access, Op-Ed States
Seattle this week became "the first jurisdiction in the Northwest -- and the sixth nationally -- to declare its support for overturning the Hyde Amendment and restoring access to reproductive health care for every woman," write Seattle City Council Member Bruce Harrell, NARAL Pro-Choice Washington Executive Director Rachel Berkson and Legal Voice Executive Director Lisa Stone in an opinion piece for the Seattle Stranger's "Slog."

Calif. Tells Insurers To Cover Abortion 'Neutrally'
California law requires health plans to "treat maternity services and legal abortion neutrally," the state Department of Managed Health Care said in a recent letter to seven insurers, the San Jose Mercury News reports.

Number of Abortions in Ind. Declines for Fifth Year Amid New Laws
For the fifth consecutive year, the number of abortions performed in Indiana has declined alongside state requirements "that have made it steadily more difficult for a woman to end her pregnancy," according to a report by the state Department of Health, the AP/Indianapolis Star reports.

Featured Blogs
"Democrats Fight To Repeal Michigan's New 'Rape Insurance' Law" (Culp-Ressler, "ThinkProgress," Center for American Progress, 6/20) and "This Week in the Supreme Court Could Be Make it or Break it Time for Women's Rights" (Marty, Care2, 6/23)

Ohio House Weighs Bill Barring Abortion Coverage
The Ohio House on Tuesday considered a bill (HB 351) that would ban public and private health plans in the state from covering nearly all abortions, including in cases of rape, incest and danger to a woman's life, the Columbus Dispatch reports.

Alaska Bill Restricting Medicaid Abortion Coverage Heads to Gov.
An Alaska bill (SB 49) that would define "medically necessary" abortions that are covered under the state's Medicaid program cleared its final legislative hurdle this week after lawmakers stripped language to expand family planning funding, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports.

Ga. Abortion Coverage Restrictions Head to Gov.
A Georgia bill (S 98) that would prohibit abortion coverage in state employee health plans and private health plans sold through the federal health insurance marketplace has cleared the state Legislature and is heading to Gov. Nathan Deal (R), the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Abortion Coverage Ban Advances in Ga. Senate
A Georgia Senate panel has advanced a measure (SB 98) that would ban abortion coverage in health plans offered by the state and private plans sold through the federal health insurance marketplace, the Georgia Health News/Augusta Chronicle reports.

Va. Senate Attempts Repeal of Antiabortion-Rights Laws
The Virginia Senate on Tuesday narrowly passed a bill (SB 617) that would repeal a state law requiring ultrasounds before abortions but defeated a measure (SB 618) that would have allowed private health plans sold through the state's health insurance exchange to offer abortion coverage, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

Wash. Abortion Coverage Parity Bill Advances in House
A Washington bill (HB 2148) that would require most health plans in the state to cover abortion services has passed out of a state House committee and could be considered by the full chamber, the Spokane Spokesman-Review reports.

Editorial Urges Mich. Lawmakers To Let Voters Decide Abortion Proposal
"The Michigan Legislature is poised to overstep -- into the lives of Michigan women and girls, and into the business of health care" -- by "preparing to consider a petition ... that would bar private or public insurance plans from covering abortion without a separate abortion policy purchased before the woman becomes pregnant," a Detroit Free Press editorial states.

Va. Gov. Candidates Spar Over Abortion-Rights Issues
In the Virginia governor's race, state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) and Democratic nominee Terry McAuliffe both are attempting to portray the other as an extremist on abortion-related issues, the AP/NBC4 Washington reports.

Wash. Insurer Excludes Abortion Coverage From ACA Marketplace Health Plans
Group Health Cooperative, a not-for-profit health care system in Washington state, has elected not to provide abortion coverage in health plans offered through the state's insurance marketplace, but Group Health officials said beneficiaries still will be able to access abortion care without paying additional fees, KUOW reports.

Featured Blogs
"Every Reason for an Abortion is a Good Reason" (Amanda Marcotte, RH Reality Check, 7/15) and "Wendy Davis: The Silver Lining to a Very Dark Cloud" (Mary Pauline Lowry, Huffington Post blogs, 7/12).

N.C. House Advances Sweeping Abortion Restrictions
The North Carolina House on Thursday passed antiabortion-rights legislation that would give Gov. Pat McCrory's (R) administration wide power to regulate abortion clinics in the state, the New York Times reports (Blinder, New York Times, 7/11).

All 24 Antiabortion-Rights Bills Failed During Texas Legislative Session
None of the 24 abortion-related bills filed in the Texas Legislature this session reached the Senate or House floor, which Democrats view as a successful turnaround from Republicans' attacks on family planning funding and abortion rights in recent years, the San Antonio Express-News reports.

Mich. Petition Seeks To Ban Abortion Coverage
A group called No Taxes for Abortion Insurance plans to gather signatures for a proposal that would ban health plans sold in Michigan from offering abortion coverage, the AP/Detroit Free Press reports.

Abortion: Private and Public Insurance Coverage | In the Courts

This section provides a brief overview of significant cases impacting reproductive rights and health related to Abortion: Private and Public Insurance Coverage.

Walker v. Jesson
Demand in state court for declaratory and injunctive relief against the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), accusing DHS of using public funds to pay for non-therapeutic abortions for indigent women.

Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest v. Streur
State court challenge to Alaska Department of Health and Social Services regulations and statute that severely restrict the circumstances under which the state will provide Medicaid coverage for medically necessary abortions.